India needs to create 148 mn additional jobs by 2030 given population growth, says IMF DMD Gopinath

India needs to create 148 million jobs by 2030, requiring reforms in land, labor, education, and taxation, says IMF.

India has been a laggard among G20 nations in terms of employment generation and the country needs to create an additional 148 million jobs by 2030 given the population growth, IMF's First Deputy Managing Director Gita Gopinath said on Saturday (August 17, 2024).

India on an average grew at 6.6% for the decade starting 2010 but the employment rate was under 2%, she said at the Delhi School of Economics Diamond Jubilee event here.

So, India's employment rate is much less when compared to other G20 nations, she said.

"If you look at India's projections in terms of population growth, India will have to create anywhere between 60 million to 148 million additional jobs cumulatively between now and 2030... we are already in 2024, so in a short period of time we have to create a lot of jobs," she said.

Given the scale of what is needed, it is going to require basic reforms including land reforms and implementation of labour codes.

To generate more jobs, she said, there is a need for an increase in private investment as it is not commensurate with 7% growth in GDP.

However, she said, public investment is going well but private investment has to improve.